


Fall With the Pain

by TVBS



Series: Flesh and Bones [3]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, F/M, M/M, Vampires, Werewolves, incubus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-09-30
Packaged: 2018-04-07 10:08:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4259349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TVBS/pseuds/TVBS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Things still aren't as weird as they were when the thing was in the pantry. Michael will say that, at least.</p><p>Even if the office has an incubus and a werewolf.</p><p>And Gavin's coming back to Austin for a short visit.</p><p>And something is still hunting the non-humans of the office.</p><p>Oh yeah, and he needs to prepare for whatever idiocy he's going to participate in for Extra Life this year. That's also a thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Well, he could say one thing: Ray didn't lie. Michael wiggled his toes, grinning as he heard a soft grunt under his desk. They were nice and toasty under there, so Ray could shut the hell up. And stop giving him that look. Michael frowned back down at him, and Ray snorted, lowering his head again. "I thought so," he muttered, going back to work. At least he wasn't wearing his shoes. That was nice, right? Of course it was.

Christ, what was with this sudden cold shit? The entire building felt freezing now. Some people ate it up, but fuck that. No, he needed his feet warm, so they remained right where they were. Though, once Geoff got back... Michael peeked under the desk again, watching Ray breathe quietly. Yeah, this would end as soon as Geoff got back. Ryan wasn't about to end it, and Jack wasn't here either. Well, if someone would get a fucking space heater...

Speaking of Ryan, he suddenly peeled himself out of his chair, groaning a bit as his knees cracked. He looked pointedly down at Ray, eyes amused behind his glasses. "You know this isn't going to last long."

"If I have a werewolf buddy, I have my own personal space heater," Michael told him, wiggling his toes pointedly as he looked over his shoulder. Ray grunted again at that, shifting away slightly. "Hey, you get back to where you were, space heater."

A sharp laugh escaped Ryan's lips, making a small shiver of lust creep up Michael's spine. He frowned at Ryan, raising an eyebrow. "Ah," he muttered quietly as Ray growled at him as well, looking away. "I thought I had gotten that under control again."

Michael stopped the thought that was building, because if he thought about fucking incubui, he would have to remember that yes. Yes, he did that once. And that's not a good thought to have around said incubus. "Pretty obvious you're hungry, idiot. So start paying more fucking attention."

"And how would you expect me to take care of it?" Ryan asked him, voice low and inviting. Michael's lips parted slightly at the tone, remembering the feeling of Ryan against him, touching him, inside him- and fuck, he wasn't sure if it was because of _Ryan_ \- "Michael. Michael, I was kidding."

Yeah, of course he was. "Just go do whatever you do to get that under control," Michael told him gruffly, turning back to his computer as Ryan left. Ray looked up at him curiously, which was too bad back Michael was ignoring everything except work. Because no, he wasn't thinking about what it was like when Ryan fucked him into one of his best orgasms and how it was making him both really horny and really fucking guilty about one important factor.

"Dude, have you told Gavin yet?"

That factor. Michael shifted his suddenly cold toes, looking over where Ray was sitting on the floor beside his chair, shivering slightly. The sudden shift to human form, not to mention the lack of a furry warmth against his toes, made Michael frown. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ray rolled his eyes at that. "I saw you two making the embarrassed 'we just fucked' gaze day after I... you know, and I know about Ryan because Tina and I fucked like bunnies thanks to..." Ray's lips quirked, trying to say how he ripped Ryan up without words. "So I'm pretty sure since Ryan was okay day after and you were trying really hard not to stare at him, I would say I know you two fucked. Does Gavin know?"

"We're not dating," Michael said reflexively. Then, when Ray was about to snort, he raised a hand. "I mean, I don't owe him that. We're not... neither of us have asked the other out. We're friends."

"He might want to know you boinked one of our coworkers."

"And how about the fact you're not shifting out of control anymore because you're fucking in love with me?" Michael shot back. Ray's gaze shifted away, uncomfortable. "How about we go there too if we're talking about things Gavin doesn't need to know about? Besides." Michael shrugged. "He's in Italy. Fuck if anything will actually happen. He's a vampire, remember?"

"Yeah..." Ray said slowly. "And? Tina's human. Human/non-human relationships work all the time."

Michael rubbed his neck, not looking at him. "You're not immortal."

Ray fell silent at that. "So nothing about the fact Gavin's a dude?" he finally asked, weakly trying to turn it to a joke.

"I am not admitting you were right."

That made Ray grin, about ready to say something else when Geoff walked in. "Hey!" he barked out, shielding his eyes at the sight. "Human form, human clothes! We went over this!"

* * *

A dream woke Michael that night. What that dream was, he couldn't say. But he knew something set his blood running, sweat prickling across his skin, and breath gasping in his throat. He sat up, slowly running a shaking hand through his curls as he tried to steady his breathing. After everything that had happened, of course he would have a few nightmares. Nearly being eaten, yeah. Bitten, sure. Stalked by Ray who was shifting uncontrollably? Hey, anyone would have nightmares. But this...

He wished he knew what it was that woke him.

Slowly, Michael got out of bed and went to his computer. Four in the fucking morning, ugh. He might as well just get up for the day at this point. That sucked. Michael yawned as he started to scroll through Twitter, trying to wake up even more.

Work seemed like it was normal. Everyone was acting like normal, after all. Ray and Ryan were (mostly) back in control of themselves. And yet... there was still something that Ray had seen. Something that set him so far on edge that he shifted into a wolf every time he thought he saw it and went after it, to the point that he stressed out so much about it that he started shifting uncontrollably. That was, unless Michael was around because he had a big gay boner for him. Or something. Important part was, shit... Michael _knew_ what the fuck Ray had seen, and it worried him that he hadn't seen it recently. Where the fuck was it?

"Also Ryan being creepy," Michael muttered to himself as he clicked out of Twitter. "I'm fucking human, you asshole."

If he wasn't, Burnie would have said something, right? Burnie had a weird ability to tell if someone wasn't human. So if he wasn't human like Ryan thought, Burnie would have been all "hey Michael, you know you're not human, you're this instead," right?

Yeah.

Everything was fine.


	2. Chapter 2

October in Texas fell between Hell and that weird thing Texans called "winter." Not quite the hundred degree or more weather of summer, but not that weird... four seasons in one day thing that could happen from December through February. No, October sometimes was the closest thing that Texans had to "autumn."

Even though it still felt too hot to be a proper autumn.

Fuck, it was hot.

It made Michael wonder why the hell he didn't see a fog bank every time he walked out of the building. With the air conditioning going so far out of control in there and the temperature being so high out here- there should be some kind of meteorological disturbance, right? Though, it probably just felt like it was hot considering how _fucking freezing_ it was in there. Michael shook his head as he got in his car. They had to get that shit fixed. If anything, Austin could have some nasty cold snaps, and winter _was_ coming.

But October brought its own special fun. Of course, Halloween, which was always fun. But... yeah, the finishing touches on what they could actually plan for Extra Life were going on right about now. Trying to see who they could bring on (though if they could top LeVar Burton reading _Go The Fuck To Sleep_ as a guest, he'd be surprised. Hopefully someone was talking to Mica about taking part this year), what games they could play, what they could do between events... It looked like it'd be a good one this year. Definitely a lot of fun. And definitely full of things that would make him hurt, vomit, or generally be miserable. But hey, he knew that going into it. That was the point, right? Be miserable for the fans, raise more money.

Hey, who was he to argue with results?

The only thing was... he was going to do this without Gavin. It wasn't like he couldn't text the idiot and have a Skype conversation, but... Gavin wasn't _here_. He couldn't just turn to him in real life. Yeah, Ray was here and he loved Michael and all that... but Ray wasn't Gavin. Even ignoring the whole... fact that yeah, okay, Michael had a crush on Gavin thing, Gavin was Michael's best friend. Even if Michael hadn't fallen for him, he'd want him here for that support. He didn't look forward to next year's RTX, doing his first one without Gavin. He felt stupid for feeling this way, but... he couldn't help himself. He could see it around the office too. Gavin had brought levity to serious situations in ways no one else could have thought of.

Michael didn't even let himself get riled up by the usual traffic as he drove home, thoughts filling his head. He hadn't really thought about that before. He'd have to do RTX without Gavin. Eventually, they'd have to fill Gavin's spot permanently, not just subbing in Lindsay, as wonderful as she might be. He'd have to do _everything_ without Gavin.

And there wasn't anything he could do about it. Gavin couldn't come back to Austin. And, as Michael had told Ray, he was immortal. Gavin was okay now with Skyping with him, but would that always be true? Nothing keeping Gavin from fucking off. Michael pulled into his parking spot and sat in his car for a long moment, frowning at his dashboard. There were a lot of things about immortality. Even if he grew a pair and things worked out so he could ask Gavin out and actually fucking date, would _he_ be okay with a boyfriend that didn't age? Or had literally hundreds of years of experience? And that really did assume that somehow he could go to Italy without it being a big deal or Gavin could come back to Austin. Michael inhaled sharply, moving quickly to exit his car. And it assumed Gavin was okay with knowing about Ray and Ryan.

Fuck. Did anyone tell him about Ray? Michael paused at his door, key in the lock, trying to remember. Of course, few people knew about the reason why Michael could turn Ray back. But everyone at Rooster Teeth knew he was a werewolf. Except Gavin hadn't been there when Ray interrupted The Patch all wolfed out. As far as Michael knew, Ray had taken out the cameras before they were turned on, so no fans should know. But would anyone have told Gavin? Kind of a thing, considering it was becoming as big a non-secret as "Gavin's a vampire."

Burnie. He'll ask Burnie in the morning. If Gavin didn't know, there might be a reason for someone not telling him. Plus, it was a reason to talk to Burnie and see if he knew anything about who might be in danger from the thing stalking the non-humans.

* * *

"Huh? Yeah, I told Gav. Kind of silly not to after Ray outed himself like that." Burnie looked at Michael strangely as the younger man rubbed his neck. "What's up?"

That made Michael shake his head. "Nothing, nothing. Just wondering. I know you're keeping a lot of secrets for the non-humans here."

Burnie sat back in his chair, tapping a pen against his lips. "Not really as many as you might think," he admitted. "There are a few of them but... fuck, I can count them on one hand."

"Wait, really?" Michael blinked at him, then checked to see if anyone was nearby before continuing. "That few?"

That made Burnie lift his eyebrows at him, pen still against his lips. "Even if you count me, which you shouldn't because I'm just a human with a cool ability, I can still count them on one hand. And there are a lot of us. So it's really rare. You haven't answered my question."

Michael rubbed his mouth, thinking about that. So there might not be anyone else in danger. But that meant... Ray and Ryan were _really_ in danger if they were all this thing wanted. Michael opened his mouth to say that, to say that there was something hunting them, that was why Ray went on that rampage when Burnie was in Italy and why Michael was on wolf-sitting duty now-

"Am I human?"

Burnie just stared at him, the stupidity of the question hitting him full across the face. "What?"

"Nevermind," Michael muttered. "It's nothing."

"Yeah." Burnie put the pen down and stood, not quite coming over to him yet. "I don't know why you want to know, but yeah. You read as human. Did something happen while I was gone that wasn't 'Ray tried to eat everyone's faces'?"

Well, he found out Ryan was an incubus and fucked him because he wanted to and have the side effect of healing him. But Ryan not being human was another secret Burnie was keeping that Michael didn't feel like letting him know he knew about. And trying to explain that Ryan said he had a lot of energy and because of that said something that made it sound like he might not be human- but hey, he had confirmation from someone who could knew non-humans on sight that he was human. Or "read as human," whatever that meant. "Just that. It's nothing. How was Italy?"

"You obviously haven't watched the podcast."

"Your vampire is needy! Not my fault he wants to Skype when the podcast is on."

"Oh yeah, about Gavin." Burnie rifled through the papers on his desk, making a small happy noise when he found the paper. "Here. So you know when to pick him up."

Michael just blinked down at the paper, knowing it showed when a flight from Italy finally made it to Austin and that it should click that was _Gavin_ but it couldn't be because they had told the community he was dead after he sacrificed himself to save Michael's life, because he couldn't come back to Austin due to fans here knowing what Gavin Free looks like-

"Gav needed to come back to Austin for a bit," Burnie explained, sitting back down, pen back in his hand. "And you two have some shit to work out, I'm sure. So work it out and drop him off at my place once you're done."

All Michael could do was look at the dates on the paper.

Because he flew in two days before Extra Life, and flew out the day right after.

He wasn't going to have to do this alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Two days before Extra Life still meant waiting two days before Extra Life. Which meant that Michael had to stop fucking thinking about it and actually edit what the hell he was working on. It didn't matter that Gavin was about to be back in Austin (and he really wished he could tell the other Achievement Hunters but that was something that could get out a little too easily). He still had a job, and still needed to do it.

What the hell could Burnie need Gavin back for? Michael bounced his leg as he absently cut a section of video, mind wandering. Just about everything he could think of could be done in Italy. It had to be something weird. Or did Gavin actually whine enough about missing everyone that Burnie brought him back over for a short visit? He would believe it, considering just how the vampire could be. Michael's fingers tapped out a rhythm against his mouse, then went still as a thought occurred to him.

Burnie wanted Michael to pick Gavin up.

And talk about things.

Shit, he knew. Burnie fucking knew about Ray and Ryan.

Or he could be paranoid. But he would put money on the fact that he knew about Michael and Gavin's relationship and where it was going, what it meant about Michael being able to change Ray back, and yeah, knowing about Ryan was just plain paranoia. Still. Fuck, he didn't want to talk to Gavin about that. He didn't- he didn't know what to _say._ And if Gavin knew that he had slept with Ryan and that Ray loved him to the point of using him to shift back to human, kiss goodbye any chances of figuring out their relationship.

Fucking Burnie.

But... it still might work out. It would be their first night alone since... yeah, he found out Gavin was a vampire. Michael licked his lips, remembering Gavin's hands against him, his mouth, his-

Ray shifted in his seat, the motion out of the corner of his eye pulling Michael from his thoughts. He looked over, slipping his headphones off, then scowled as he noticed the flush on Ray's cheeks. Michael watched as Ray's lower lip caught between his teeth and his hands stilled on the keyboard, then started shaking ever so slightly. Alarmed, he pushed himself over to Ray, pressing his shoulder against him. "You okay, dude?" he asked in a low voice.

With a small jump, Ray took a deep breath and nodded, slipping his own headphones off. "Just a little... yeah." He laughed, a soft breathy noise. "Shit. I'm fine."

Michael could feel his eyebrows climb at that. "Bullshit." He leaned in a little further, dropping his voice even more. "You looked about ready to shift."

Ray looked at his hands for a while, then let them drop into his lap. "I think Ryan's hungry," he finally mumbled. "I'm turned the fuck on for no reason. And even like this I can smell I'm not the only one. Makes me-" He broke off, gritting his teeth.

That... Michael looked at him, wondering what the hell he was about to say. "You need a moment alone in the bathroom?" he finally asked, trying not to sound like he was joking. Yeah, that could be a joke about jerking off, but hey, Ray might need a moment to calm the fuck down so he didn't wolf out on everyone.

"Not alone," came the reply, and Ray turned his head to press his nose into Michael's shoulder, inhaling. All jokes froze on Michael's lips as Ray nuzzled him. What was he supposed to do? Awkwardly, he lifted his arms and held Ray, rubbing his back as he nuzzled and sniffed Michael. This had to be the weirdest thing ever, and he had dealt with rabid fauna before. He looked up, noting how Geoff and Jack quickly glanced away, curious but trying to give them privacy as Michael calmed the wolf down. Ryan, on the other hand... stared at his computer screen like he had nothing to do with the fact that Ray was about two seconds away from trying to eat everyone's faces.

Michael pressed his lips against Ray's ear, gaze steady on Ryan. "I'm going to need to talk to Ryan," he muttered, wincing as Ray held him tightly.

"Five more minutes." Ray briefly nosed the space between throat and shoulder, making Michael tense. "You don't like anyone touching your neck after Gavin bit you, huh?"

He shrugged, one shoulder coming up. It made sense. Gavin bit him twice, and he remembered how he felt after each one, the otherworldly calmness and how far away reality seemed. He didn't like that possibility again. "Other things can be done without touching my neck, you know."

"I could always be like a big friendly dog and stick my face in your crotch."

The joke fell between them, heavy and loaded. He could joke along with it, but he could feel the weight of something more than a crack at Ray's werewolf nature behind it. Slowly, Michael started to let Ray go, not really sure how to answer that. "I'm going to go talk to Ryan," he finally said, not quite shifting away yet.

"Yeah." Ray lifted his head, clearing his throat. "I mean, yeah, makes sense."

Michael started to push back to his desk, watching as Ray take off his glasses to clean them, then rub his eyes. Well, he did look better, at any rate. Now for the incubus. Michael strode over to Ryan and grabbed his shoulder. "Ryan! Man. We need to talk."

For a moment, Ryan didn't respond. Then, he nodded, slowly standing up. "The Patch soundstage should be free," he said genially, smiling.

Michael smiled as well, his lips stretching in the false gesture. "Cool. We'll be right back, okay?" he told Geoff, nodding as he waved him off.

It took a surprising amount of restraint for the walk. Not just to not yell at Ryan, but for the fact that Ryan was still pumping crazy amounts of lust into the air and it was already established he found Ryan pretty fucking hot. But as soon as they reached the soundstage, Ryan let out a long breath. "I know what you want to talk to me about and I'm sorry."

"Sorry nothing!" Michael whirled on him, anger taking the place of lust. "I get it, you're hungry. But fuck, Ryan! Look at this shit! Geoff and Jack probably are having a hard time concentrating on stuff that needs to be done today, and you nearly made Ray shift. What the hell, are you on a diet or something?"

Ryan rubbed his face, looking tired. "No, no, I'm... _eating_ like usual. I just... keep getting hungry." For a moment, something passed over him, and Michael had to blink rapidly to clear his vision. It almost looked like something was on top of him- "I'm... I'm fine."

"Then act like it. Stop making us want to fuck around you so you can eat it up." Michael's voice trailed off as Ryan looked at him, his breath picking up at the way his eyes nearly undressed him right then and there. "Ry. Not by fucking me. I won't fuck you at work."

"But you'd fuck me outside of work?"

The question hit Michael hard, leaving him lightheaded as all his blood gathered between his legs. And he knew, _knew_ it was solely due to that way Ryan asked that question, the low purr with those hooded eyes, inviting him to say yes, yes he would, yes he wanted to. And he did.

But.

"It happened once," he finally said, forcing the words past a dry throat. "And because you needed healing. I'm not fucking you again."

Ryan just looked at him, then smiled. "Of course," he said easily. "If that's all, we should-" He suddenly broke off, one hand slamming down on the Patch's table.

"Ryan?" Michael took a step closer, worry starting to fill him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Ryan's arms trembled on the table as he took deep breaths. "I think. I just- got dizzy there for a moment."

Oh. Ohhhhh no. "Are you fucking getting sick? Do you get sick?"

"Yes, Michael, I get sick." Ryan swallowed, laughing a little. "This isn't sick. Just kind of dizzy."

"Yeah, which is great when you're already trying to snack on everyone else. Dude, go home. Tell Geoff you want to go home, get your wife, bang the living shit out of her, and feel better." Michael didn't come closer, remembering what happened the last time he touched Ryan when he was hurt.

Ryan didn't answer at first, almost making Michael take a step closer in worry. "I'll be fine," he finally said. "But I should go home anyway."

"Tell Geoff-"

"I will." Ryan pushed off the table, inhaling sharply. His gaze fell on Michael again, dark and inviting. "You're welcome to come home with me."

Fucking incubi. "Stop being creepy."

"It was worth a shot."

* * *

If airports could stop sucking, that would be nice. Michael looked up at the flight notifications, then at the carousels. Might suck that he had to wait down here, but it was probably better that he didn't have to deal with navigating through the airport to find Gavin's gate and then wait for him to get off the plane. Just wait for him to come get his bags.

Today had been strange. Ryan hadn't come in at all, making Michael think that he really was sick, and he simply couldn't concentrate all day. Not with the knowledge that Gavin would be in his car, and in his apartment in a few hours.

Fuck. Gavin was going to be _in his apartment._ He cleaned, right? Yeah, and he went to get some pizza to throw in the oven and plenty of beer. Everything would be fine. A crowd of people started milling around one of the carousels, and Michael scanned the faces. It was about time, right? Gavin should be around here somewhere... Fuck, where was he?

A chilled hand fell over his eyes. "Guess who," a soft voice whispered in his ear, familiar with an Italian accent curling around the words. Before Michael could answer, the hand fell away, Gavin stepping in front of him. "... my boi."

"Gavin," Michael managed. And wow, Gavin looked way different. Nice slacks, nice shirt, was that a belt he saw?, expensive shoes, his hair actually grown out more and in a ponytail, glasses... it surprised him just how much not-Gavin he looked. And there was actual glass in those glasses, something that magnified or something because it changed the shape of his eyes behind the lenses, made them bigger somehow. "Or- shit, you know."

"I don't think there's any Rooster Teeth fans around to hear you," Gavin chuckled. "How have you been, my little Michael?"

Those words didn't sound right without a British accent. "You know. Same old." He looked down, seeing the wheeled luggage by Gavin's feet. "You have any carry-on?"

"No." He smiled, and Michael found himself smiling back dumbly. "Come on, I'm hungry."

Michael laughed, fishing his keys out of his pocket as he turned to lead Gavin out. "I guessed you would be. I got a pizza we can throw in the oven, and plenty of bevs. You up for it?"

Gavin considered the words, yawning slightly. "'m not here for long," he admitted. "Burnie needs my help with something... I guess something in person? I'll be busy the entire time; well, except for Extra Life." As they exited into the hot October air, Gavin paused, a scowl coming to him. "I had forgotten how wicked hot and humid it was here. Anyway... I wanted to come to Extra Life. I can't be part of it... but I can watch, you know?"

"I know." Michael felt a thrill run through him at that. "You sure you'll be able to manage it? Only Burnie and the Achievement Hunters know you're still alive."

With a wave of his hand, Gavin said, "I've met people who look like me before in the past. I'll just pretend it's a coincidence that I look a lot like Gavin Free."

"You sound like you've done that before."

Gavin went quiet, looking down as they walked towards Michael's car. "I've had to do a lot of things to explain why I'm not aging."

Michael's finger paused on the unlock button, and he turned to Gavin, the question bubbling up on his lips. "Has anyone ever known?"

"Hm? What now?"

"About..." Michael unlocked the car, the gesture sharp with annoyance. "The thing. Immortal thing. Have anyone you've... ever loved known?"

Gavin started loading his luggage into the car, quiet, raising Michael's annoyance level. "No," he finally said, sliding into his seat and closed the door. Michael followed, mouth opening to ask more when Gavin said, "I don't know why I didn't care if people at Rooster Teeth knew I was a vampire." Michael started the car for the AC, looking at Gavin. "Or, I know. The thing in the pantry, making the supernatural seem natural. But you... Rooster Teeth are the first people to know."

It didn't escape Michael's notice what Gavin was about to say. "So I'm the first person you've liked that knows."

"Michael..."

"Gavin, shut up." Michael started to back out of his parking spot, his mind trying to find the right words. "We're going to go back to my place, and while we do, you're going to listen." There wasn't anything else from Gavin, so he continued on. "I did a lot of thinking while you were gone. A lot of arguing with Ray. A lot of denial. So you like me. You told me that back when all this shit was first going down." He took a deep breath as he merged onto the highway, taking solace for once in the traffic. "So there's no denying that. But there's me, prancing my ass around in Narnia because I'm too busy arguing with Ray about how I'm not bisexual and not- not liking you too."

"Michael." Gavin's voice was hushed, but as if something was clicking. "When you- that night, over Skype. It wasn't because of-"

"This would be so much easier over bevs," Michael muttered. "But, hey. Here we are. Talking about our feelings as I drive."

Gavin took a deep breath, his fingers tapping on his knees. "You're bisexual?"

"Yeah." Michael nodded, watching the traffic as he drove. "So. Two bisexual guys, both of them into each other..."

"I am sucking your knob when we get to your place."

The sudden intense announcement made Michael look over at Gavin briefly. "Holy shit, Gav. I mean, I'm not arguing but holy shit. Where'd that come from?"

"I've wanted to," he said sheepishly. "But I figured, well, you're not into blokes." Wow, that sounded weird with an Italian accent. "So I didn't think I would be able to. But if you are, I am going to shag the living shit out of you." The sexual frustration crept into his voice at that last bit, the last few months rolled into the words.

Seriously? Michael couldn't say no to that, and shifted slightly in his seat. "Everything I said that time during Skype I've wanted to do," he told him, his voice equally intense. "Shove your face up against the wall and just nail you, hard."

"Bloody hell." The British accent started to creep in, pushing through the Italian. "Drive, Michael, don't talk. Or we might not get back to your place."

Michael turned his head long enough to grin at him. "Keep it in your pants."

* * *

Gavin made good on his promise. Michael barely had time to lock the door when he had hands on his jeans, undoing the button and yanking the zipper down before Gavin knelt before him. "Holy shit," Michael choked out, leaning against the door. "Wow." His hands went to his pants to aid Gavin, pushing down both jeans and underwear to reveal his half-hard cock. Gavin wrapped a hand around him, stroking a few times before leaning forward and pressing a kiss to the tip. His mouth opened as he looked up at Michael, taking in just the head, his lips sliding over the skin as Michael groaned. Slowly, Gavin took more into his mouth before he gagged slightly and pulled back, having reached his limit. Ryan could take more but _fuck Ryan_ , he wasn't here right now and he wasn't Gavin. Michael started rolling his hips shallowly as Gavin bobbed his head up and down, his hand stroking what he couldn't take in. One of his hands stroked Gavin's hair, fingers pulling locks free of the ponytail. He groaned, keeping his eyes on Gavin as he slid his tongue across his dick, as he stroked him firmly and quickly-

"Gavin, close," he gasped out, then bit back a near scream as Gavin opened his mouth further, managing to take in more as he came. For a moment, all he could do was stroke Gavin's hair as the vampire pulled himself off Michael's cock, wiping his mouth. "Christ, Gav. That was good."

"Yeah?" He sounded pleased as he stood up. Michael looked at him, lips red and cheeks flushed and hair coming out of the ponytail- and grabbed him, kissing him deeply. That taste on his lips was probably his spunk, which was kind of weird, but it gave him time to pull his pants back up before breaking the kiss and reversing the positions, Gavin against the door. Only this time, he surged up against Gavin, hand stroking across the bulge between his legs. "Mi-coo."

Fuck, he missed that. "Turn around."

Obedient, Gavin did so. "Do you- have any lube or- rubbers?"

Michael pressed up against him, one hand working his slacks open before plunging down and freeing his cock. "I'm not going to fuck you like that right now. No, up against the wall, just like this." His hand started moving across Gavin, his lips against his ear. "Did you ever think about this, Gavino? Me pressing you against the wall-" at that, he urged his hips forward "-while all you can do is hold on and gasp and writhe as I fuck you? Did you ever have fingers inside you, fucking yourself while you imagined me fucking you?"

"Christ, Michael," Gavin groaned. "You know I did."

"Do you want me to fuck you? Get hard again and nail you, as hard as I can?"

" _Yes._ "

Michael pressed his lips to Gavin's head right by his ear. "Come for me, baby. We have all night to make that come true." His hand continued to move as Gavin gasped, pushing his hips into each stroke. "Come for me."

The second request did it. Gavin nearly sobbed as he came, his body going boneless against the door. Michael rested his nose against Gavin's shoulder, holding him up as he started to recover. "You never did answer my question," he finally said quietly. "Do you have lube and rubbers?"

Michael laughed a little, pressing a kiss into his shoulder. "Yes. I actually do."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the start of Not Good Times. Times are not going to be good for a while now.

"We should probably stop having sex at some point," Michael said drowsily as Gavin absently traced patterns on his chest. "We might need to... eat or sleep or some such shit."

"Mm." Gavin shifted so he was propped up on one elbow, looking down at him. "Are you telling me you're hungry, boi?"

A soft noncommittal noise slipped from Michael's lips. "Just think we should take some kind of break." He yawned, stretching as he sat up. "Though I wouldn't say no to a burger right now or something. Whattaburger stays open 24 hours, right?"

Gavin laughed softly, rolling out of bed. "We should probably shower first if we're going out, yeah?"

Michael paused at that, looking at Gavin. He didn't want to leave Gavin alone just to go scrounge up some food. And taking Gavin along probably wouldn't hurt anything. But all of their fans _knew_ Gavin was dead. The probability of running into one during a food run... not that high. But Michael just knew his luck. And if he went with Gavin... Michael took a deep breath, meeting Gavin’s eyes, seeing a thoughtful look crossing his face, then the same realization settle in. “Gavvy,” he started, then stopped when Gavin shook his head.

”I know. We have to be careful.” The look on his face melted into frustration as Gavin picked up his underwear, starting to step into it. “It’s- bloody annoying. Because of that sodding thing in the pantry, we had to tell our fans that I’m dead because at the time, I was. And I had to live in Italy because-” Michael started as he saw the look on Gavin’s face. That old, sad- that look, the one he had when he remembered when he killed that girl, and the punishment that came after. When he remembered being alone. “I’m just _tired_ of it. I wish we could just tell the fans I’m a vampire so I could come live here again.”

Michael stood slowly, coming over to him. He hadn’t thought about Gavin living alone in Italy, what that meant, and now Gavin wanting to Skype with him every night made sense. It was a voice, a reminder he wasn’t alone, that he wasn’t back in that place. “Hey, Gavin.” He placed a hand on Gavin’s shoulder, stilling his motions. “We’ll find something, okay? You’re back here to help Burnie with something, right? Maybe it’s a way to come back.” He shook Gavin’s shoulder slightly as he watched a small smile cross the vampire’s lips. “Okay? Besides, I think this makes us boyfriends or something. I’d be a terrible boyfriend if I let my boyfriend go be alone in Italy when I could have him here.”

That made Gavin stop. “Michael,” he whispered, not looking up at him. “You don’t understand what you’re saying.”

”Because I’m human?” A spark of anger wormed its way in as Michael let his hand drop from Gavin’s shoulder. “You must have had human lovers before. What about that Meg you mentioned before? And it’s not like supernatural/human pairings don’t work - Ray and Tina are going strong!”

Gavin shook his head. “Michael.” He cupped his face, an intense look in his eyes. “Do you understand what it means to be a vampire? What it means not to be human at all? What it means to look at the one you love and sometimes to see food?” Without letting go, he pressed his forehead against Michael’s. “I don’t feed from the ones I love,” he said softly. “But I’ve tasted you. And Christ... I love you.”

Ryan had mentioned having to not see his coworkers as food as well. Michael’s breath stopped briefly as his mind put Ray in with that, and how he cuddled up to Michael to try not to shift- “I love you too,” he told him, cupping one of his hands. “Don’t count me out just because I’m human. I have complete faith I can knock your skinny ass out if you try to make me a meal again.”

For a moment, Gavin hesitated. Then he kissed Michael, slowly and unhurriedly. “I know.” Michael just blinked for a moment as Gavin pulled back, taking a deep breath. “I’ll talk to Burnie first. Though, didn’t you say you’re hungry, boi?”

”You’re not getting out-” To counter his point, Michael’s stomach took that moment to growl loudly. “Oh fuck off!”

Gavin chuckled, leaning in for a kiss.

* * *

”We couldn’t get Mica again?” Michael asked Lindsay quietly as he came up beside her.

She turned to him, mouth open to say something while Jack was talking to Gus on stage when she suddenly frowned, and leaned to one side. “No,” she said slowly, “Mica had something she had to do for school- Michael.” Lindsay’s voice dropped to a hiss as she leaned close to him. “Is that fucking Gavin?!”

Without looking, he nodded.

”Is he fucking _brain damaged_?!”

”I’ll let you know,” he muttered. “He wanted to watch Extra Life while he was back doing... something, who the fuck knows.”

Lindsay stared at him for a moment, then over at Gavin. “Does he really think he’s fooling anyone?” she finally asked, her eyes narrowing.

Michael shrugged. “It’s more impressive if you talk to him. He doesn’t act like Gavin at all.”

That just made Lindsay groan. “Doesn’t make him less of an idiot.” She looked over at the stage, then back at Michael. “Well. You ready?”

Ready. It took all his willpower for Michael not to look for Gavin as he watched Gus get up to leave the stage. Ready, for Extra Life. For whatever stupidity they were going to get themselves into now. His lips quirked into a small smile. “Of course, Linds!” he chirped at her as he made his way up towards Gus’s vacated seat, taking up a nearby controller as he went.

Extra Life was... Extra Life, Michael reflected as he laughed along with Jack, absently playing his game. There really wasn’t anything much like it. He could see Ray and Tina arriving, the two of them looking over at Gavin in confusion. Tina whispered something to Ray before he shook his head, giving her a small kiss and heading up to the stage. “Hey, what did I miss?” Ray asked casually, settling down at Michael’s feet. He frowned, looking away from his game long enough to glance down at Ray.

”You’re piling on the wolf busters pretty hard early on,” he muttered as he leaned down, out of the range of the microphones while they changed the games. “If you were having that bad of a day, you shouldn’t have come.”

”Nah.” Ray shrugged, grabbing another controller as the game switched to one with multiplayer. “It’s not bad. So am I seeing things or is that really a certain vampire we know?”

”Lindsay already asked and I’ll let you know when I know if he has brain damage.”

That made Ray laugh and lean against his legs as the game started. It was too easy to fall into the same rhythm they had while recording, Ray’s warmth against Michael’s legs a welcome feeling. He grinned, chancing a look up at Gavin. Really, what else could he really want from this? Michael stretched, feeling his sternum pop. “Mm.”

”That sounded like it sounded good.” Michael froze for a moment as Ryan settled in next to him. And fuck, Ryan was fucking _hungry._ Michael could just feel wave after wave of lust coming off of him as he took the controller from him. He looked over at Ryan briefly as he felt Ray go rigid against his legs. “What?”

”What are you doing?” Michael hissed, trying to lower his voice enough as he leaned in towards Ryan. “We can’t do this if you’re fucking starving like this.”

Ryan paused, and Michael felt his breath stop and he realized Ryan was looking down at his mouth. “What if we did it for the kids?” he suggested, his voice a mere breath. “At a certain amount, we kiss?”

Fuck. That made his breathing start again, and hard. “Gavin-” he started softly, his eyes slipping over to where the vampire stood.

Ryan looked over as well, then pulled back slightly. “I see.”

Shit, did that made Michael tremble. He _wanted_ to kiss Ryan again, like a fucking selfish shit. He liked it. But Gavin was right fucking there, and he had just gotten to that whole thing where they confessed they loved each other and were trying to figure out what to do from there.

His thoughts were suddenly broken by Ray growling at his feet, a soft rumble that was decidedly not human. Michael pulled away to touch Ray’s shoulder. “Hey. You okay?”

”Ryan,” he said over the growl. Michael pulled his hand away suddenly as he felt something _move_ under Ray’s skin, his heart in his throat as he looked up at Tina, then back down at Ray.

Michael turned to Ryan, grabbing his shirt and hauling him back in close. “Will you stop putting out all this lust shit so Tina and I don’t have to cart Ray off to Happy Werewolf Town if I kiss you?” he spat softly in Ryan’s face. At Ryan’s small nod, he let Ryan go. “Fine. I’ll explain it to Gavin later.”

Ryan smiled, then cupped his face, wasting no time to lean in and grab a hungry kiss. A stunned silence briefly filled the studio before someone (that sounded a lot like Barbara) went “ooooooh” and that started someone else clapping. Michael let the kiss end naturally, trying to stay still and in control, when Ryan dove back in, nipping at his lower lip and making soft noises against him. It felt good... Michael found himself kissing back, one hand gripping Ray’s shoulder to try and keep himself grounded. But each kiss pulled him further and further away-

Finally, Ryan let Michael breathe for a moment, and Michael licked his lips, looking up at him. He looked a lot better, a lot less.... a...

Michael’s eyes flew open.

He could clearly fucking see something around Ryan. It looked like it was... shit, _inside_ him, and just a touch too big, so it leaked out around him. But he could _see_ it. And he could see it turn and-

And look right at _him._

And realize he could see _it_.

Ryan’s hands wrapped around Michael’s throat, inhumanly tight. He clawed at Ryan’s hands as he choked, feeling a rush of air pass by him before Ryan’s hands were ripped off of him and the incubus himself was pulled away. Something grabbed his shirt as he leaned over, coughing, and dragged him off the couch. Well, not something, but a wolfed Ray, who went to stand in front of him while Gavin wrenched Ryan’s head to one side, biting with a sudden motion.

The sucking sounds were very loud in the quiet that followed.

Michael watched Gavin hold Ryan tightly, watched Ryan’s eyes start to droop, and just... put his hand on Ray’s flank. He just... watched. He just watched Ryan get his blood sucked out and lightly stroked Ray’s fur. Gavin could... could kill Ryan like this, and... Michael opened his mouth, coughing. “Gavin,” he finally managed.

There was a noise off stage, but Michael ignored it as Gavin dropped Ryan, blood smearing his face as he came over to kneel by him. “Michael,” he said softly. Ray moved out of the way as Gavin came closer, reaching out to Michael. “Are you okay?”

There was blood on Gavin’s fingers.

”I’m fine,” he reassured him, taking his hand. “Did you kill him?”

Gavin paused, tilting his head a little at the calm question, then looked back at Ryan. “No,” he finally said, turning his attention back to Michael. “But he hurt you. Michael, what happened? Why-”

”I hate to interrupt,” Barbara cut in. Michael looked over at her, realizing she held her phone in one hand. “But Twitter’s exploding right about now.”

”Oh Goddamn it.”


	5. Chapter 5

Not surprisingly, Ray had his nose firmly pressed against Tina’s shoulder, his body shuddering with each breath under the blanket she had wrapped around him as he fought to remain calm. Michael watched him as Gavin examined his throat, poking him with worry. What the hell had set Ryan off like that? More importantly, what the hell had he seen? Something inside of Ryan... was that like the whole incubus thing, or was it...

”So... we cut the cameras just as Gavin bit Ryan. By the way, nice job making things more difficult for us, asshole,” Burnie said, aiming the last bit at Gavin. “We’re going to need to figure out what to do from here. Barb?”

Thumb mashing the screen of her phone, Barbara frowned. “Well, it’s not going to be as hard as you think. Right now, Twitter seems to be more interested in the Myan and asking if that really was Gavin they saw. Nothing about Ray, nothing about the fact that Ryan attacked Michael, nothing about how Gavin bit Ryan.” She looked up at everyone, her eyes serious as the words sank in.

When the thing had been alive in the pantry, supernatural things had seemed normal. XBox spitting blood? Hey, they did that in the office. Computer spitting demonic text as an error message? Eh, it’s just possessed. Rabid fauna? Don’t ask. But that shit had stopped. A chill picked its way down Michael’s spine as he realized what went with the weird shit - the unnatural heat of the kitchen. Which had been replaced by unnatural cold, which had permeated through the entire building. Michael met Barbara’s eyes, seeing the same conclusion in her eyes: Either it wasn’t as dead as they thought, or there was something else that was more powerful that took its place.

”Shit.” Burnie rubbed his mouth, also having come to the same conclusion. “Okay. We’ll worry about that later. What are we going to do right now? We have that PR disaster, and we also have to figure out what to do with Ryan.” He looked down at the unconscious incubus, Michael’s eyes following and making him swallow painfully as he realized just how out of it Ryan was.

”Working on the PR side,” Barbara said distractedly, eyes on her phone. “Just need to figure out how Tumblr and Reddit’s reacting first.”

While Burnie and Barbara worked on that, Gavin caught Michael’s attention. “You okay, boi?” he asked, not even bothering with an Italian accent any longer.

”Yeah,” he croaked out, then coughed, wincing as that hurt his throat more. “Shit.”

”Don’t push yourself.” Gavin settled back on his heels, a thoughtful look on his face. “Boi, you shouldn’t have let Ryan kiss you like that. Ryan’s... he’s not human.”

Michael tried not to snort at that because no shit, he knew that already.

”Ryan’s...” Gavin hesitated, trying to put the words together. “When he fed me his blood after... I asked Burnie what he was because I could taste he wasn’t human. And he told me he’s an incubus, a kind of sex demon. Only, not a demon because those aren’t on our plane of existence or something.” Gavin waved a hand. “Anyway. That... kissing an incubus isn’t smart, Michael. He could have really-” He broke off as Burnie called Gavin’s name. “Bollocks. Just... don’t kiss Ryan again. He could do something really bad to you.”

Michael watched Gavin stand and stumble over to Burnie and Barbara, words lying on his tongue. Words about how he knew Ryan was an incubus, how he had slept with Ryan to heal him when Ray had tore him up... but fuck, was it really the time? Was it really time for that kind of relationship bullshit? Slowly, Michael stood up, making his way over to Burnie, Barbara, and Gavin as well. “What’s up?”

”Burnie wants me to go on camera once they start up Extra Life again and come clean about being alive,” Gavin told him, worried. “But won’t they be suspicious why?”

”I don’t think so,” Barbara told them, resting her phone against her chin. “From what I can tell, whatever is messing with their minds is telling them that we never announced Gavin was dead. There’s a lot of asking where he’s been, but I haven’t seen one person ask if he was supposed to be dead. And we’ve checked all the usual places: Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, RT forums... nothing about Gavin’s supposed death.”

”That’s really fucking disturbing, you know that, right?” Michael told her.

”Yup. So, from what I can tell, we can probably do an announcement that Gavin’s back without any real issue. The only problem would be about the kiss and how Gavin reacted. So...” Barbara turned to Gavin. “How do you want to handle that?”

”More importantly,” Burnie cut in, “we need to figure out what we’re going to do with the incubus.”

Gavin turned and looked at Ryan, licking his lips. Which was fucking disturbing given he could probably still _taste_ Ryan’s blood on them. Which became more disturbing as Michael realized the reason why Gavin was staying silent after that was because his first thought was probably “kill him, and let me do it.” Michael looked over at Burnie, seeing the same realization cross his face. “I don’t think we should kill him,” Michael finally said, making Barbara lift her eyebrows at him. “There was... I saw something. I don’t think it was Ryan that did all that.”

That got all their attentions. “What do you mean?” Gavin asked, curious.

Michael pushed a hand through his curls, trying to put words to what he saw. “It was like... something inside of him but too big for him. Like it... possessed him or something.”

”Possessed him.” Burnie looked at him, then at the other three, trying to understand what Michael had just said. “You’re trying to say Ryan’s possessed.”

”Yes! No. I don’t know. Maybe?” Michael watched the incomprehension settle into their faces. “I saw something! And it saw me!”

Burnie, Barbara, and Gavin looked at each other, trying to see if the other understood. “Michael, we didn’t see anything,” Barbara finally said, turning her attention back to him.

”So what? Does that mean there wasn’t something there?” Michael rubbed his throat, wincing. “Ryan isn’t crazy like this. He’s weird, creepy, likes killing things in games a little too much, but he’s not the kind to hurt actual people.”

”Yeah, but wouldn’t someone else have seen something?” Barbara pressed on, making Michael snort.

”Don’t start that shit again. I got this exact same spiel when I said I think we have a werewolf and look-” At that, he gestured to Ray. “We have a werewolf! I think Ryan’s possessed by something, and whatever it is was what did... all that.”

Burnie took a deep breath. “Okay. Let’s say he is. We still have to do something about him. If he’s possessed, we have to do something so he can’t hurt anyone when he wakes up while possessed.”

”Thank you for believing me.”

”But if he’s not,” Burnie warned, “he has to actually face what he did. And that means we should probably call the police.”

” _What?!_ ” Michael stood there for a moment, mouth gaping as Burnie didn’t follow up on that. “No, if Ryan’s possessed, he shouldn’t be fucking arrested. What the fuck, Burnie?”

He shrugged, hands wide. “Look, I have no choice. I can’t say for sure if he’s possessed or not - I can only tell if someone’s not human. Not if they’re possessed. So just in case-”

”Just in case what? We send an innocent man to jail?”

”That’s not what he’s saying,” Barbara cut in. “It’s just- we don’t know. So once we do, we have that option.”

Michael looked between them. Then turned on his heel, walking away, hands caught into tight fists as he ground his teeth, trying not to yell at them. He needed to calm down before he went back. It was just-

Bullshit.

Bullshit, bullshit, fucking _bullshit._ What the fuck were they thinking? If Ryan was possessed, then calling the police... also, what the fuck were the police going to do if he was possessed? Not exactly like Ryan was human. Michael paced, trying not to grind his teeth. It was just so much bullshit.

He heard something behind him, and he turned, angry words stilling on his lips as he saw Ray standing there, blanket wrapped around him. “Hey,” Ray said, raising one hand.

”Hey.” Michael looked around, frowning when he didn’t catch sight of Tina. “What happened to Tina?”

”Dumped my ass off on you while she went to get some clothes.” Ray shifted his weight, not quite looking at him. “You doing alright?”

Michael ran a frustrated hand through his curls. “Okay, so, do you really believe that Ryan would pull that kind of shit normally?”

”Normally? No. Dude, Ryan might be really weird and creepy, but he hesitated killing me when I was being all crazed werewolf.” Ray shrugged. “But Ryan’s been acting really weird. So who knows what the hell he’d do.”

Well, that sounded like it was a better start than with the others. “I... Ray, I think I saw something inside of Ryan that might have made him do that.”

Ray blinked at him. “The hell do you mean by that?”

”I mean... shit, Ray. It was like it was something inside him and it could see me and it knew I could see it.” Michael made a half gesture, feeling his frustration rise again at Ray’s blank look. “I’m not fucking crazy, Ray! It was like Ryan was-”

”Possessed.” Ray rubbed one eye, not looking at him. “You think Ryan acting weirder than normal was him being possessed.” He lowered his hand, shifting the blanket again, more securely around him. “You know... it’d make sense.”

”Yes! Finally, someone gets it!” Michael threw up his hands.

Ray snorted. “Let me guess, they tried to tell you it had a more mundane answer.”

”Not in those exact words but just about.”

Ray barked out a laugh. “When you humans are dealing with people like us, it gets weird. Usually when your gut says it’s supernatural, it is.” He sobered, fingering the blanket. “Though, I only saw Ryan bugging out. If he’s possessed... are you sure he’s still possessed?”

”What are you trying to say?” Michael glared at him, ready to try to defend his position again if he had to.

”Are you sure he’s still possessed, or is it running free?”

Michael went quiet. “I didn’t see anything... leave,” he said awkwardly. “So I think so.”

Ray looked at him for a moment, then stepped close, pressing his nose to Michael’s shoulder. “Then don’t make me stress about it,” he said into his shirt. “It’s bad for my wolfy health.”

That made Michael laugh as he wrapped his arms around Ray, a moment of quiet surrounding them.

* * *

Thankfully, Gavin didn’t actually call out to them when he found them. It would have broken the delicate silence Michael and Ray had built. Instead, he hovered just outside their personal space, his face now free of blood. Michael didn’t let go of Ray right away, but nudged him to pull him out of the slight daze he had dropped into. “What’s up,” he asked as Ray started, then stepped away to see Gavin.

”Making sure you’re okay, boi,” Gavin answered. “You stormed off like that...” He looked at Ray curiously, then back at Michael. “We didn’t mean to say you... aren’t right, Michael. It’s just we can’t take the wrong chance, yeah? And if we treat him one way, and it turns out the other...”

”Just. Don’t,” Michael bit out. “Don’t. So, what’s going on?”

Gavin took a deep breath. “I’m going to go out on Extra Life. We have a script I’m going to read about how I’ve been in Italy these last few months and couldn’t be here, and tease about something b-” He broke off suddenly, balling a hand into a fist and bringing it to his mouth.

”Dude. You okay?” Michael asked, half reaching out to him.

”Yeah. Just...” Gavin shook his head. “Dizzy.”

Michael felt his face freeze at the words as Gavin looked at him curiously. Dizzy. Fuck. No. He tried to smile as Gavin started to look alarmed, the look falling off as Gavin shook his head, tongue flicking out to run across his lips while he stumbled a bit, trying to keep his balance. Next to him, Ray started to growl, the blanket falling to the ground as Gavin suddenly grabbed Michael.

It was like before. He could see it clearly, that thing inside of him that filled him up and spilled out, and it could see him through Gavin. And this time, he could clearly see how Gavin’s face twisted into bloodlust as he grabbed Michael’s hair, how Gavin’s lips curled away from his teeth before he started to lean in-

Before Ray sank fangs into Gavin’s arm, the wolf dragging him off of Michael. He stumbled backwards as Ray flung Gavin away from them, standing between the two of them on all four paws and growling, waiting for Gavin to get up.

But he didn’t.

No, instead Ray’s growling increased as something pull itself out of Gavin’s unconscious body, scurrying out of sight. Michael almost dropped to his knees as he watched it go, watched it pull back into its rat-sized body and run off, familiar.

It should be. He and Ray had seen it out of the corner of their eyes before.


	6. Chapter 6

Michael didn't actually slide to the ground. His legs stayed firm, keeping him upright as he watched Ray pace back and forth in front of him, growling at Gavin. He swallowed as he looked around, trying to catch any hint of where that thing had run off to. Of course, he had only seen the damn thing out of the corner of his eye before, so trying to find it now- "Ray," he croaked out, voice not quite wanting to work now. He reached out, gently stroking his fur, trying not to flinch as Ray threw a growl over his shoulder briefly. "Hey. Look. Everything's okay."

Ray didn't relax, but he did turn to Michael, sniffing him. Slowly, Michael bent down, trying not to feel like he was about to get his throat ripped out as he reached out to take Ray in his arms. He started to lightly stroke Ray's head, swallowing. "Hey there. Everything's okay. It's okay to calm down now. It was just Gavin being possessed."

Not the right thing to say. Ray started growling again, forcing Michael to use all of his will not to flinch. "Hey." Michael snapped a hand out, grabbing Ray's muzzle. "Look at me. You know this wasn't Gavin's fucking fault. Just like what happened with Ryan wasn't his fault. So stop that bullshit and calm down." He shook Ray's head a little when he just let out a harsh breath. "Don't make me have to tell Tina you were a bad werewolf when she gets back."

That earned him a snort. Slowly, Michael let him go, making a face as Ray turned his head to one side and sneezed. "Gross, dude. But you're going to play nice with Gavin, right?" At Ray's nod, Michael sighed. "Good. Now shift back and help me with him. We need to get back to everyone else and get him somewhere safe." Ray growled at that, shaking his head. He nudged Michael's shoulder, looking back at Gavin then at him. "Whoa, you know that wasn't his fault, right? Whatever." Michael picked up Ray's glasses as he stood up, placing a hand on his head. "You want to stay wolfy, that's up to you. Not any skin off my nose. Just as long as you act like you actually have a human brain up there."

Ray shook Michael's hand off his head, but stayed near him as he came over to Gavin, considering. He didn't know if that thing would come back. And if it did, things would be kind of... bad. To say the least. "And it bites that we can't see it straight on," he muttered. "You saw that fucking thing, right? How it's that fucking thing we've been seeing this entire goddamn time?"

He nodded at that.

Michael rubbed his mouth. "Fuck. So apparently that fucking thing... possesses people." What else was it doing? Whatever it was doing, it made the non-humans dizzy and hungry. And it didn't like him for some reason. "Look, if you can shift back when we get back to Burnie and everyone else, we can tell them what's going on. So Ryan won't get arrested." Michael stroked Ray's head a little, playing with his ears. "You need to shift back at some point anyway. Tina's going to be back with your clothes and she's going to expect you to be human shaped." He sighed as Ray shook his head, growling a little. "Come on, Ray."

Ray just stepped away from him, turning towards another hallway as his growling picked up. Michael felt his pulse beat harder as he watched Ray take a step away from him. "Hey. Dude. Let's stay together." He didn't know what was down there, but he had an idea that maybe, just maybe, it might be something not good and maybe rat-shaped. "Ray."

That made Ray turned a little and look at him, slinking back towards him. "Hey. I know you're kind of on edge right now, but it's okay. We'll stay together and get through this." He thumbed Ray's ears. "Let's go." Michael started to leave, pausing when he realized Ray wasn't coming with him. "Hey. Dude."

Ray shook his head hard enough that his front paws came off the ground.

"Come on, dude. Let's not do this now."

Ray started growling again, shaking his head as he did so. Michael took a step backwards, his heart in his throat as he watched Ray pace slightly, the growl holding an edge of a whine. Then, suddenly, Ray snapped to one side, making Michael jump, Ray's glasses digging into his hand. He watched Ray try to attack something he could barely see, something Michael himself couldn't even see right now- no, he could if he just- Michael turned his head slightly, trying to see out of the corner of his eye where Ray was looking, and felt his breath stop as he saw something just before Ray lunged at it.

Shit.

Michael looked around for some kind of weapon, something he could hit the thing with. He could see it in some kind of way, so he could smash it. Then he froze as he heard Ray snarl, a noise he hadn't even heard when Ray had fought with Ryan. Slowly, he looked over at him, jaw working when he saw Ray braced, looking full on at him, the snarl aimed right at him. "Ray," he said softly, swallowing as he saw something else look at him. Fuck. He could still see Gavin's unconscious body out of the corner of his eye, and Ryan wasn't- he was the only person here, and all the other non-humans were out of it. "Ray, don't."

Ray took a step towards him, bending down to spring at him. Michael tensed, ready to defend himself if it came to it as Ray snarled at him. "Come on, Ray," he pleaded, watching the thing inside him completely ignore him. "Don't do this. You love me, remember? You don't want to do this." He took a breath, ready to say more when Ray pounced on him. Michael threw an arm up instinctively, wedging it up under Ray's throat and trying to keep his fangs away from his throat. He growled down at Michael, body frozen still on top of him, then leapt off of him, shaking his head, the thing briefly disappearing before reappearing, staring at Michael with more hatred than ever. Ray snapped at him, then folded his ears back as he shook his head, whining a little. Before Michael could do more than realize Ray was fighting it, he ran away, claws clacking on the floor.

Michael took a deep breath, slowly sitting up and looking down at Ray's glasses, still in his hand. Ray had fought it. And then-

Shit. He was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Fuck.

Not the most helpful of thoughts, but the one running through Michael's mind at the moment. Just- fuck. If he didn't know any better, it would seem like the thing purposely possessed Ray to try to get at Michael. And boy did that backfire. He would bet it didn't expect to try to possess someone who already knew about what was going on that loved Michael. If Gavin had known, had been able to see it come for him- Michael shook his head, staring up at where Ray had gone. No, he had to think about something else.

Like the fact that there was a possessed werewolf out there.

Which, really... meant which did he want to do? He could go after Ray with a weapon and when the thing fled out of his body, try to beat the shit out of it. Or he could go back to everyone else, tell them what happened, and to look out for the werewolf. Probably the second option would save his skin. But... Michael went over to Gavin, bending down, and touched his chilled cheek. He used to be as warm as a human but ever since that day... He shook his head. Enough. If he went to go warn them, he'd be hiding behind them and making them go do his dirty work for him. No, he would have to go find Ray.

Michael leaned over to lay a kiss on Gavin's forehead before standing up. Time to find the werewolf, again. He searched for a weapon, not coming up with a lot and eventually finding a discarded crowbar. Good enough. And now to find Ray, once again feeling like there was a target on his back. Though, this time, he knew it had something to do with whatever was possessing him and not Ray himself. Which was a small relief.

Still. Walking around through the Rooster Teeth building when everyone was around the podcast area for Extra Life knowing there was a werewolf wandering around was kind of... yeah. Michael's hands tightened, belatedly realizing he still had Ray's glasses in one hand. Absently, he slipped them into the collar of his shirt, then whirled as he heard a growl.

Nothing.

Shit. What if by going to look for Ray, he was leaving everyone back where they were streaming Extra Life unaware and defenseless against the werewolf ready to spring on them? Damn thing had a hard-on to kill him, but that didn't mean it wouldn't hurt anyone else. Shit. Maybe he should go back and just warn them so they were at least aware before he went back out looking for Ray. Maybe Tina would be there too, and having her around to give out the wolfy love vibes would help. Michael turned around to go back to the podcast area, eyes sweeping back and forth as he started back.

He just hoped the thing wouldn't see Tina as a threat as well.

What was the fucking thing seeing that made Michael a threat, anyway? He was just a fucking human! A wave of anger rushed over him, burning brightly as he walked. It wasn't like he was a- an incubus, or a vampire, or a werewolf, or anything like that. It was like Burnie said, he read as human. Okay, Burnie never said he was human, but he read as it so that was good enough for him. So why the fuck was that thing after him?! Michael's teeth grit as he walked, feeling fury rise with every step. And then the thing went and made it so Ryan got bit by Gavin, Gavin got his arm chomped on by Ray, Ray-

A snarl interrupted his thoughts, and Michael didn't even have time to stop before Ray barreled into him. Michael managed to hold onto the crowbar, but that was a small relief given the arm holding it had a heavy paw holding it down. The thing inside Ray stared at him for a brief moment before snapping down for Michael's neck, making him throw his free arm up under his throat and hold him off.

Fuck.

No.

Fury filled him as Ray snarled and snapped at him, trying to rip his throat out, and he growled. No. How dare this thing do this. How fucking dare-

The pinned arm wrenched free, and Michael smashed the crowbar into Ray's head. When Ray shook his head, trying to clear it, Michael shifted his grasp and did it again, feeling the impact up his arm as the werewolf stumble off of him. Without giving himself time to think about it, Michael pulled himself up onto his knees and swung the crowbar in a wide arc, catching Ray across the snout. That gave him enough time to stand up as Ray whined, backing up. But no, the thing was still inside of him. Michael's upper lip rose in a snarl of his own as he kicked Ray, noting with no little surprise how far he slid away. Fury spurred his motions forward as he pressed forward, shifting his grasp on the crowbar again, watching Ray pull back in submission, starting to shift back. And he could see how he was losing the war to unconsciousness, how something was pull itself free from him-

Michael's free hand reached out, grabbing Ray's throat, and pulled. Something not Ray came with him.

He couldn't quite see it outside of Ray's body. But he knew something was there, something was squirming in his hand, trying to get free. Something was biting him, because he could see the gouges and blood running down his hand. Michael growled, swinging it down into the ground, watching the floor dent and fracture under the blow of something not human reaching it. That stunned it for a moment, just a moment.

Enough time.

Michael dropped the crowbar, grabbed where he thought its head would be, and pulled. There was resistance, and nothing happened. Pain shot up his arm - it was kicking him. He could see the blood from the wounds it opened. A new wave of anger washed over him at that, at the fact that fucking thing would even think to hurt him, and he pulled one more time.

Blood splashed over his face, hot and black. He threw whatever was in his hand to one side and grabbed under, pulling again, letting the anger spur him into more strength. Something thick mixed in with the black blood hit his clothing as he did that, and he dropped everything, breathing heavily.

There was a sound. Michael turned towards it, snarling. What was next? What wanted to hurt him and his next?

Burnie stood there. Oh. Michael's upper lip slowly relaxed. Just Burnie. Who... looked very afraid of him right now.

Oh. He was covered in blood. Right.

"Burnie-" Michael started.

"What the fuck are you?" Burnie interrupted. "While you were ripping... whatever had that much blood apart, you weren't human. You weren't anything I know. And now you're human again. What the fuck are you?"

Michael stared at him. Then down at his bloody hands.

_"You weren't human."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading this, I love you. I don't care what you do with this information.
> 
> I just lost my mother-in-law. So I'm telling everyone that means something to me that I love them. Every reader means something to me.


	8. Chapter 8

He's human.

Michael was human.

Burnie was wrong. If he was wrong about anything, it wasn't about how he said Michael read as human. It was now, about how he said Michael wasn't human while ripping the thing apart. How did that work? How... how was someone not human... Michael looked down at his bloodstained arms, taking a shaking breath. His eyes turned up towards Burnie slowly, mouth moving without saying anything. Then, he shook his head, balling his hands into fists. He had just been angry, that's all. Not- not that he wasn't human.

Burnie frowned at him, then down at Ray. "Jesus Christ, Michael, what the fuck did you do?" he snapped at him, making a half motion towards Ray. Michael turned, looking down at Ray, and felt ice in his chest at seeing him unconscious and bruising. Hopefully nothing was broken, which considering Ray was a werewolf, was possible that nothing _was_ broken. Even though Michael remembered how far Ray went when he kicked him. Burnie made his way over to Ray, trying not to get close to Michael (he noticed grimly) as he kneeled down and checked over the werewolf. "Christ. Well, good thing is, we can get him some help and say he was mugged or something."

"He was possessed." The first words he said to Burnie after all of this and those were them? Fuck. "Like Ryan. It possessed Gavin, then him, and tried to-"

"Hey, whoa." Michael snapped his mouth shut at Burnie's cautious tone, realizing how he was starting to sound. He just- he just really needed people to understand. "Ryan woke up. He told us the same thing you did when we asked him what happened. And- shit, Gavin too? You fucking shouldn't have gone off on your own, Michael." Burnie looked him over, at the oozing wounds on his arm and the black blood splattering his body. "Christ," he repeated. "Look, I've helped out a lot of non-humans here over the years. Gavin, Ray, and Ryan were the three that lasted the longest, but there have been a few that came and went. Mostly interns. The question is... do you want anyone to know?"

Michael shook his head. He was fucking human. What he did... it...

"Okay." Burnie stood up, gently taking his shoulder. "Look kid, things aren't as bad as you think. So what that you're not as human as you thought? And I'm curious to know why I was wrong in the first place and why you're reading as human again." He shook him slightly. "It'll be okay. We'll figure out what you are, and then you can work on controlling it. You're probably half human or something anyway."

Half...? "That's a thing?" Michael asked him hoarsely, making Burnie shrug.

"Stranger things have happened."

Michael nodded. Okay. He could do that. He could work with Burnie to try to figure out what he was. Just... Michael looked down at himself, flexing his hands. Whatever he pulled apart, that wasn't normal blood. If any other non-human was an indication, they bled red like he- most humans did. Fuck. So that meant it was something else. Something that wasn't exactly here. Something that could possess.

He didn't want to think the "D" word but it was coming up hard in his mind.

"I need a shower," Michael finally told Burnie. "And to raid the store for clean clothes."

Burnie nodded, letting Michael's shoulder go. "Yeah, I'd say. Go on. I'll deflect them long enough so you can go home if you want to."

That sounded wonderful. Michael patted Burnie's arm as he walked by, feeling the answering comforting pat on the back as he went. Which he fucking deserved because his entire fucking life just went- he was human. He had to hold onto the thought he was at least half human. He had to be. There was no way he was less than half human. He- Michael flexed his hands, distantly realizing he was clenching them so tightly his nails were cutting into the palms, making them bleed. Michael paused for a moment, watching how the red mixed with the black. Was that how it worked in people like- was it really like him? But was it like him, the red of human mixing with black of... whatever the fuck? Would it be black, or red like Ray, like Ryan? He didn't know how other non-humans bled. He didn't...

He didn't even know if Burnie was right in that he wasn't human.

"Michael!" His head snapped up at the sound of Gavin's voice, and he hid his hands behind his back. Kinda stupid considering he was covered in blood, but... he didn't need Gavin to know he was bleeding. In fact, he could slip away right now and Gavin would never know. He would never see him covered in... this. "M-michael!" Damn it. Gavin rushed over to him, half stumbling. He stopped before him, hands not quite sure if they should touch him. Michael watched, seeing the deep guilt war with intense worry on his face. "That's not your blood," Gavin finally breathed. "I didn't do that to you." Relief flooded his features for a moment before the worry came back. "Michael, whose blood is that? Why are you covered in blood?"

The words ' _Because I'm not human and I ripped something apart_ ' sat on his tongue, sour and heavy. He shook his head, thumb brushing across the cuts on his palms. He didn't even know if the first part was true. But he just- he couldn't tell Gavin. He couldn't tell him he just ripped apart something he could barely see with his own bare hands after beating up Ray with a crowbar and Burnie didn't know what the fuck he was-

He just shook his head, thumb digging into the cuts his own fingernails made into the palm of his hands. He'd tell him later.

Once he knew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for everything. I love everyone that clicked on this (even if you hated it), left kudos, and comments. And so many thank yous for all your support during these last few weeks. Thank you, everyone, and I love you.


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